Though Heshima had made his decision, carrying it out would not be easy.
At the emergency war council Heshima convened, the chiefs of several mid-sized tribes led the other small and mid-sized tribes in opposing his decision.
They refused to let the Iron Bone Tribe's forces leave. They even demanded that the tribe attack again today and hand over all its remaining provisions.
As they saw it, Heshima had already admitted to hiding food once. If he had hidden some before, he must still have more.
Heshima did have more, of course. But those supplies were essential to getting the Iron Bone Tribe back to the grasslands, so he could not hand them over.
The dispute between the two sides erupted in full.
Several Commanders of Ten Thousand under Heshima nearly came to blows with the small and mid-sized tribal chiefs inside the tent. Both sides drew their blades, neither willing to yield.
Heshima's face darkened. His authority no longer held sway, and the smaller tribes had slipped completely beyond his control. Yet he had no good way to deal with them.
Throughout the siege, the Iron Bone Tribe's own troops had borne the brunt of the fighting, leaving the smaller tribes few chances to take part. Their casualties had been correspondingly light.
The Iron Bone Tribe, meanwhile, had suffered heavy losses, and all its troops were exhausted.
Even though his forces still held the advantage over the smaller tribes, Heshima did not dare gamble. He had no wish to spend more of his tribe's strength fighting these people.
The chiefs seemed to have grasped that weakness. After they first threatened to split off and Heshima surrendered his hidden food, they began demanding more and more.
They believed that if Heshima backed down once, he would keep backing down.
So